2023 presidency: Plateau Speaker challenges Yahaya Bello

Gov. Yahaya Bello

By Peter Amine

The Speaker of the Plateau House of Assembly, Abok Ayuba has challenged Governor Yahaya Bello to grant autonomy to Kogi House of Assembly if he wants to get his support and that of his colleagues for his 2023 presidential ambition.

Ayuba threw the challenge when the Speaker, Kogi State House of Assembly, Prince Mathew Kolawole, visited him to canvass support for Gov. Bello’s ambition to become the President of Nigeria in 2023 on Thursday.

According to Plateau House of Assembly Speaker, autonomy was one of the key things that the Speakers Conference of Nigeria has been fighting for.

“As a young person, he (Bello) should act differently and implement the autonomy so that others will follow.

He, however. added that the north-central should be considered for the 2023 presidency because of its large population.

“We will tell them that we form one of the largest population in the country and we should be considered this time,” he said.

He assured the Kogi speaker that he would convey his message to the state lawmakers when they resumed from recess on Jan. 20.

Ayuba further stated that Plateau would join hands with Kogi to get what rightly belonged to the north-central.

Earlier, the Kogi Assembly Speaker who  was accompanied on the visit by his Deputy, Ahmed Mohammed, and other Kogi lawmakers had solicited support of Plateau Speaker and his colleagues for the actualization of the ambition of the governor of his home state.

“Our mission in Plateau is to congratulate the Speaker, Plateau House of Assembly, Abok Ayuba on his election as the Chairman of North-Central zone of Speakers Conference of Nigeria.

“We are also here to brief him and canvass support for his Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the Governor of Kogi State, who is the youngest governor in Nigeria to run for president come 2023.

“In view of our relationship with our governor, as legislators, we have articulated all his achievements in the areas of security, women empowerment, youth inclusion in government, education and infrastructure development.

“We have found him to be suitable as he has performed creditably well.